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Luxury homeowners increasingly vulnerable to hackers

A smart home and a hacker
A smart home and a hacker

From the New York website: LinkedIn, big banks, even presidential candidates, they’ve all been hacked. So do you really think you smart home is secure? Online security experts say that homes with thermostats, security cameras, lights and appliances that are connected to the Internet are vulnerable to hackers.

Roughly 45 percent of survey respondents told Coldwell Banker that they own smart-home technology or plan to invest in it this year. And the number goes up among luxury homeowners who are typically early adopters of the expensive technology, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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But luxury homeowners are also prime targets for cyber crime and the range of risks is vast. Hackers are capable of everything from messing with the air conditioning to disabling cameras ahead of a break-in.

The Journal recommends a few basic steps to protect your home, including “changing the password on your device from the default, protecting your WiFi network with a password and ensuring that your wireless router uses some form of encryption.”

And of course, if you’ve given your password to an old cook, dog walker or au pair, be sure to update your password. [WSJ] –Christopher Cameron